diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..956d92d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# Set a password to protect the app. Leave empty to disable auth.
+PASSWORD=
+
+# Host port to expose the app on.
+PORT=5000
+
+# Host paths for persistent data.
+DOWNLOADS_DIR=./downloads
+CONFIG_DIR=./config
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 280e44e..63f8e0d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-/downloads/
\ No newline at end of file
+/downloads/
+.env
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index bef2249..a86e314 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@ services:
     build: .
     container_name: votify-web
     ports:
-      - "5000:5000"
-    environment:
-      - PASSWORD=test  # Remove or leave empty to disable auth
+      - "${PORT:-5000}:5000"
+    env_file:
+      - .env
     volumes:
-      - ./downloads:/downloads
-      - ./config:/config
+      - ${DOWNLOADS_DIR:-./downloads}:/downloads
+      - ${CONFIG_DIR:-./config}:/config
     restart: unless-stopped